# Competences — social worker

Source: ESCO v1.2.1 occupation-skill relations (http://data.europa.eu/esco/occupation/4b05bef2-ded4-4b09-ab94-f4c6a555a775).

## Essential

- **accept own accountability** (skill/competence)
- **advocate for social service users** (skill/competence)
- **apply anti-oppressive practices** (skill/competence)
- **apply case management** (skill/competence)
- **apply crisis intervention** (skill/competence)
- **apply decision making within social work** (skill/competence)
- **apply holistic approach within social services** (skill/competence)
- **apply person-centred care** (skill/competence)
- **apply problem solving in social service** (skill/competence)
- **apply quality standards in social services** (skill/competence)
- **apply socially just working principles** (skill/competence)
- **assess social service users' situation** (skill/competence)
- **build helping relationship with social service users** (skill/competence)
- **communicate with social service users** (skill/competence)
- **conduct interview in social service** (skill/competence)
- **consider social impact of actions on service users** (skill/competence)
- **contribute to protecting individuals from harm** (skill/competence)
- **cooperate at inter-professional level** (skill/competence)
- **deliver social services in diverse cultural communities** (skill/competence)
- **demonstrate leadership in social service cases** (skill/competence)
- **determine child welfare** (skill/competence)
- **develop professional identity in social work** (skill/competence)
- **empower social service users** (skill/competence)
- **follow health and safety precautions in social care practices** (skill/competence)
- **have computer literacy** (skill/competence)
- **involve service users and carers in care planning** (skill/competence)
- **legal requirements in the social sector** (knowledge)
- **maintain records of work with service users** (skill/competence)
- **make legislation transparent for users of social services** (skill/competence)
- **manage ethical issues within social services** (skill/competence)
- **manage social crisis** (skill/competence)
- **meet standards of practice in social services** (skill/competence)
- **negotiate with social service stakeholders** (skill/competence)
- **negotiate with social service users** (skill/competence)
- **organise social work packages** (skill/competence)
- **plan social service process** (skill/competence)
- **prevent social problems** (skill/competence)
- **promote inclusion** (skill/competence)
- **promote service users' rights** (skill/competence)
- **promote social change** (skill/competence)
- **protect vulnerable social service users** (skill/competence)
- **provide social counselling** (skill/competence)
- **provide support to social services users** (skill/competence)
- **refer social service users** (skill/competence)
- **relate empathetically** (skill/competence)
- **report on social development** (skill/competence)
- **review social service plan** (skill/competence)
- **social justice** (knowledge)
- **social sciences** (knowledge)
- **social work theory** (knowledge)
- **tolerate stress** (skill/competence)
- **undertake continuous professional development in social work** (skill/competence)
- **work within communities** (skill/competence)

## Optional

- advise on conflict management (skill/competence)
- advise on social security benefits (skill/competence)
- assess social work students (skill/competence)
- assess the development of youth (skill/competence)
- assessment processes (knowledge)
- assist children with special needs in education settings (skill/competence)
- assist families in crisis situations (skill/competence)
- assist the homeless (skill/competence)
- build community relations (skill/competence)
- carry out social work research (skill/competence)
- child protection (knowledge)
- clinical social work (knowledge)
- communicate about youth's well-being (skill/competence)
- communicate with youth (skill/competence)
- communication (knowledge)
- consultation (knowledge)
- counsel students (skill/competence)
- counselling methods (knowledge)
- court procedures (knowledge)
- crisis intervention (knowledge)
- dependency on drugs (knowledge)
- disability care (knowledge)
- disability types (knowledge)
- empower individuals, families and groups (skill/competence)
- engage with offenders (skill/competence)
- establish collaborative relations (skill/competence)
- family law (knowledge)
- identify mental health issues (skill/competence)
- manage a social work unit (skill/competence)
- manage volunteers (skill/competence)
- migration (knowledge)
- older adults' needs (knowledge)
- pedagogy (knowledge)
- perform street interventions in social work (skill/competence)
- personal development (knowledge)
- plan youth activities (skill/competence)
- present reports (skill/competence)
- promote mental health (skill/competence)
- promote the safeguarding of young people (skill/competence)
- promote youth work in the local community (skill/competence)
- provide community development services (skill/competence)
- provide domestic care (skill/competence)
- provide immigration advice (skill/competence)
- provide victim assistance (skill/competence)
- raise awareness on local community's priorities (skill/competence)
- rehabilitation (knowledge)
- social mediation (knowledge)
- social pedagogy (knowledge)
- social security law (knowledge)
- special needs education (knowledge)
- strategies for handling cases of sexual assault (knowledge)
- supervise students in social services (skill/competence)
- support children's wellbeing (skill/competence)
- support juvenile victims (skill/competence)
- support migrants to integrate in the receiving country (skill/competence)
- support social service users at the end of life (skill/competence)
- support social service users to live at home (skill/competence)
- support social service users to manage their financial affairs (skill/competence)
- support traumatised children (skill/competence)
- support victims of human rights violations (skill/competence)
- support volunteers (skill/competence)
- teach principles of social work (skill/competence)
- teamwork principles (knowledge)
- work for public inclusion (skill/competence)
- work in multidisciplinary health teams (skill/competence)
- work on the effects of abuse (skill/competence)
- work with social service users in a group (skill/competence)
- write work-related reports (skill/competence)

<!-- market-evidence -->

## Market evidence (job-ad analysis, 40 ads, as of 2026-07-19)

Share of analyzed job ads mentioning the item (threshold ≥ 20 %). Source: JSearch/Adzuna APIs.

### Hard skills

- case management — **25 %**

<!-- market-evidence -->